Catastrophic Engine Failure in Mazda

Thanks Stu for your thoughts.
Thats the first thing I checked. The Mazda 6 has a timing chain that is tensioned by oil pressure. there is nothing in the manual that says this chain needs to be changed. The service manual also does not list any timing belt or chain to be replaced (goes to 160,000km in services).

But I agree that its a fialure like this that could cause that sort of damage.

Cheers

Ok then the chains last a long time & never let go anyway.
They usually can get a little noisy with time & I have heard that on turbo vehicles they can jump a tooth on the sprocket.

Must be something else then. Very frustrating to have a major failure on such a low mileage vehicle.

Chains can & do break, ask Navara owners!

not only navara owners but pajero owners too..
3.2 did.. and the triton owners..
chain lets go and smashed engine is the result..

mate had it happen to his car..
they bought it for like 10g.. told them to sell it for 20g what it was worth, get a cruiser.. he was a cruiser man, she wasnt keen..
got it off her brother CHEAP, but cost her dearly.... in the end..

Wouldnt be so harsh. He is on the right track.
You could definitly reasnabally expect a dealer serviced vehicle to last longer than 130k
However after 10years really it wouldnt fly
What might be worth it though is to see if inadequate servicing caused the fault as dealer services also come with warranty

They haven't had it from new, so who knows if the mileage is genuine?
Also the 130,000 could have all been very short trips which is conducive to more wear!

Yeah lets kick a dealer..... they are the cause of all our world issues.... I feel better now.

Good point Ross.
I will endeavour to get an oil sample from the sump. There would not be much oil left in it based on what was under the car, on trhe road, and what came out on the tilt tray as it was winched up at an angle. The dip stich eppeared to be a browny colour, certainly not black so I think the oil was changed at the last service.
But I will take the sump plug out and get the best sample I can.
Cheers

olcoolone.
Each time a situation arises where a service agent could/may be an issue or cause of a fault, you seem to go into bat for and defend them.
In most cases, if the actions of some service centres was good then they would never have anything to fear.
It is the actions of many businesses which do create problems for unsuspecting motorists.
Yes, engines can fail for unexplained reasons and checking the oil quality will determine if the servicing has been sufficient and therefore not a factor in an engine failure. This is advised first as you will have already read. No good trying to find the cause after all evidence has been disposed of, is there?

If servicing centres didn't do what they do to customers they would avoid the flack that is directed towards them.

Let us all try and help the thousands of motorists who are victims of malpractice. No malpractice and the troubles won't be there.
Nearly all correctly serviced vehicles do not have premature failures.
A very small percentage can have a problem but most do not.

Only people who are in a similar business seem to condone what they do. Why is that happening?

Ps Log books are meaningless.
Cheers
Ross M

Isn't this off topic, As it has nothing to do with 4wding 0r camping.

Ross I'll go and bat for anyone especially if it's made by false accusations, dealers are no different to no dealer service facilities.... good and bad in both.

The number of vehicles we see or hear about from non dealer service facilities that have done the wrong thing by the customer far outweighs wrongdoings by dealerships.

Hate to tell you; malpractice is live and well in the non dealer sector.

It seems Ross before your post there was nothing mentioned that the vehicle had be serviced and maintained by a dealership but you still seemed to conclude this could possibly be a cause of the failure.... all that was mentioned was it has be serviced according to the log book (think he means service schedule), this is the basic standard most reputable repairers will follow.

Mechanical devices will always have a failure rate and in most cases it's just a matter of time.

Anything could've happened..... a sensor failure making it run extremely lean, oil pump failing and a rift of other things..... being front wheel drive they could of hit something damaging the sump and kinking the oil pick up restricting oil..... yes we have seen it.

Could have even had an injector fail dumping too much fuel in with the unburnt fuel diluting the oil to an extent where the oil lost it's properties nipping up a bearing and throwing a leg out of bed.

As for oil quality..... even the cheapest oil used in an application like this will give good longevity and you would be hard pushed to find a dealership who would use the cheapest nastiest oil they could find.

Oil samples will show little in a destroyed engine and may be a cost that isn't needed... if an engine has be subject to extreme temps, loading and shear oil will carbonise, pulling an engine down will give a better understanding of the failure.

Sorry for ranting on but I get annoyed when people make comments and assumptions with no or very little data to back their claims.

I checked and yes I did say IF. Perhaps you missed it.

Ross,
Judging the condition of a lubricating oil by it's colour went out the window decades ago, possibly five decades or more. Modern day lubricating oils have additives that will, in fact discolour your oil at an earlier stage. More information on this can be gained from studying
"detergent-dispersant" additive to oil.
Cheers.

"I will endeavor to get an oil sample from the sump. There would not be much oil left in it based on what was under the car, on the road, and what came out on the tilt tray as it was winched up at an angle. The dip stick appeared to be a browny colour, certainly not black so I think the oil was changed at the last service.
But I will take the sump plug out and get the best sample I can."

As a person in a mining company who read the results and anaylysed the info of hundreds of machines in the fleet I can tell you that getting a sample now is useless and not the way to take a sample.
The bottom of the sump has a lot of crud and an engineer will shoot you down immediately when you tell them how you got your sample.
Save your money. Just start looking for a second hand engine.
Mechanical things fail and there is probably a better chance the bonnet was not lifted by the owner enough or noticed any changes in noise.
Brown oil (was it creamy brown ?) could be water ingress.
Stop looking for somebody else to blame and find that engine.
Jap engines are fairly cheap and these things happen occasionally.

Gimme is right. I deal with oil sampling also and as far as I know there is no unequivical way to determine how many hours an oil has done.
Also as said a sample is useless-going to tell you that the oil is full of particals "resample at a reduced interval" :-)

A suggestion Wamuranman would be to show your daughter how to check the oil and recognize if something is wrong ie "brown oil".

Its a life skill anyone with a licence should learn along with changing a tyre.

Hi MP,
I am not trying to blame anyone at all but thought it worth asking some questions to cover all bases. Sometimes there is something in the past that someone knows that may be useful information to have. My main request actually was to see if anyone had any ideas as to the best place to get an exchange engine in Brisbane area. That does not sound like I am blaming anyone to me.
I also don't think this is OT...as it relates to the Mazda brand of which some owners have 4x4. Also what causes such a failure is relevant to owners of all modern vehicles.

Cheers

Not off topic in my opinion you can EXPLOROZ on a Dinky, if that's your go.

Plus one to that. :-) Better not to stick your head up out of the foxhole around here these days.

Thanks suparoo that is interesting and the feedback I was looking for. Not that it changes anything but at least we know this has happened before and ours was not the first (or last) one it happened to.
Mazda 6's seem to be a vehicle of choice for young women...both my daughters have the same model and both were purchased s/h from female owners.
But when we get it fixed I think we will trade it in on something else. It is still not known what caused the problem...that is the worrying part.
Cheers

Hi Suparoo, Just for interest sake ,how many Ks had the vehicle done?


Cheers Axle

Thanks Rockage, I had not seen that link before.
That is exactly why I posted on this FORUM to all the sceptics...not to lay blame but to gather information that I otherwise would not have been privy too.
Thats an interesting article RA.
Cheers

Thanks for the pics W'Man, can't help with diagnosis but I do find it interesting and if it were my car I too would be intrigued to learn of the cause, like yourself not so much about apportioning blame but rather simply understanding why. It may just save someone else the same grief.